Ugandan online editor accused of sedition

Nairobi, August 4, 2010—Police accused the online editor of The Ugandan Record, Timothy Kalyegira, of sedition Tuesday and searched his house today, Kalyegira told the Committee to Protect Journalists. The Media Offences Department commissioner of police, Simon Kuteesa, interrogated Kalyegira about two online articles that speculated as to whether the Ugandan government were involved in the July 11 bomb attacks in Kampala.

Summoned on
Monday, Kalyegira has reported to the police daily since and said he
accompanied them while they searched his home today. Police confiscated his
laptop, modem, passport, notes, and mobile phone. He was told to return to the
Kiro Road Police Station in Bukoto, a suburb of the capital, Kampala, on
Friday, he said.

The police Media
Offence Department, which is part of the Criminal Investigations Department,
have accused Kalyegira of violating the colonial-era penal code by publishing
seditious material. Defense lawyer Ladisleus Rwakafuuzi told CPJ the police cannot
legally charge Kalyegira under this law since it does not take into
consideration online publications. “This law is not up-to-date,” Rwakafuuzi
said. “They have no legal mandate for this since the Ugandan Record is not a newspaper.”

“Regardless of
the nature of the article, sedition charges are never justified,” said CPJ East
Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. “We call on the authorities to return Timothy
Kalyegira’s equipment.”

The Uganda
Record is one of the few
Ugandan media outlets that questioned whether the July 11 bomb blasts were
instigated by Somali insurgent group Al-Shabaab, Kalyegira told CPJ. The site
published an article on July 12, “Who set off the Uganda Bombs?” and another July 16, “Why is Rwanda not condemning Al-Shabab?” that says: “Rwandan intelligence
officers that Uganda Record sources have
spoken to seem to believe that the bombings were by Ugandan intelligence.” The article provided no evidence for the
allegations.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for two July 11 bomb blasts in Kampala
that left an estimated 76 people dead. An Al-Shabaab spokesman said it was
retribution for Uganda’s participation in the African Union peacekeeping forces
based in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.